Since it was stealing fish from the fishing brigade, not grain from the production team, even if someone saw it, they would just pretend they didn't see it.
While complaining, the fisherman delivered silver carp to the workers at the Red Star Factory. The fat man glanced at them and noticed that most were white carp, with very few bighead carp.
The fat man chatted with him for a bit, then looked at the silver carp and an idea popped into his head.
In the afternoon, when they returned to the factory, the workers were dismissed on the spot.
Half of the staff at the third canteen were also let go; unsurprisingly, people like Chef Wang and Ma Hua were allowed to leave work early.
Once only Aunt Fatty and a few others were left, Liu Lan made the surprising announcement: "Tonight, Fatty will be in charge of cooking."
Aunt Pang frowned and pulled her aside: "Liu Lan, let me tell you this seriously, I really like Fatty. Anyone who tries to bully him in front of me won't be allowed!"
Liu Lan was both amused and exasperated: "Oh my goodness, my dear Auntie Fatty! Fatty's skills are amazing. Take this herbal tea for example, it received unanimous praise from the factory leaders!"
Aunt Pang then called the fat boy to her side with some skepticism and asked in a low voice, "Son, are you sure you can do it?"
The fat man felt a warmth in his heart and confidently said to his aunt, "Just you wait and see!"
Seeing his confidence, Aunt Pang stopped talking.
The moment the fat man stood in front of the stove, he immediately gave off a different vibe.
Master Wang and his colleagues didn't have this kind of imposing presence; they had only ever seen it in Sha Zhu before.
One instruction after another came out of the fat man's mouth in an orderly manner, and the fat aunt and the others also got to work, helping to prepare various side dishes.
The factory leaders were used to eating the dishes cooked by Sha Zhu, so Fatty also mainly ate Sichuan cuisine today.
Why can the big boss in the TV series guess the order in which the dishes are served just by looking at the food that Sha Zhu makes?
That's because the order in which Sichuan cuisine is served is basically fixed, emphasizing "cold dishes before hot dishes, stir-fries before braised dishes, and savory and light dishes served first, followed by sweet and strong-flavored dishes."
There are two main cold dishes: sliced beef and tripe in chili sauce and cold chicken salad; the first hot dish must be shredded pork with garlic sauce.
Then dishes like Kung Pao Chicken, Spicy Stir-fried Pork Kidney, Twice-cooked Pork, Mapo Tofu, and Braised Chicken... were served one after another.
But today's main dish isn't Dongpo pork knuckle, but rather braised fish head made by Fatty using silver carp given to him by a fellow villager.
This dish is not from Sichuan cuisine, but rather a representative dish of Huaiyang cuisine. Huaiyang cuisine is known for its saying, "One part skill, one part flavor."
With Sha Zhu's masterpiece as a precedent, whether Fatty can make a name for himself in front of the factory leaders today depends entirely on this dish.
The character 拆 in this context is pronounced zhái; it means to decompose or separate.
The fat man chopped the fish head in half and then boiled it in water, preparing to make this most time-consuming dish, braised fish head.
This dish is difficult from the moment it's put into the pot.
First, it's all about timing. If you overcook it, it'll fall apart as soon as you try to take it apart; if you undercook it, the flesh and bones won't separate.
The area around the eyes is the most difficult to debone. That area has a lot of bone and thick flesh, and the flavor is most concentrated. Without extra care, not only will the shape be ruined, but the sweetness will also be lost…
Aunt Pang watched as Fatty spread the cooked fish head out on the cutting board, then started from the gills, removed a bone, and placed it on a plate lined with a black cloth.
As more and more fish bones were removed, the plate gradually became more than half full.
The fat man finally breathed a sigh of relief after carefully dismantling the bones near the fish's eyes.
This was the area he was least confident about before, but fortunately he performed exceptionally well today. Sometimes, you really have to push yourself.
Why is 8 hours of sleep enough? Is it possible to sleep 9, 10, or 11 hours?
Why can we only eat 3 meals a day? Can't we have 4, 5, or 6 meals plus a late-night snack?
There's nothing you can't do, only things you're afraid to try! You won't know how capable you are until you push yourself!
The final, most difficult part is getting to the fish head after all the bones have been removed. That's when you start braising it.
All the bones in the fish head have been removed, so it will break if you use too much force when cooking it.
That's not the hardest part. The hardest part is pouring the fish head out of the pot at the end.
Liu Lan is not only a chatterbox, but also has the traits of a contrarian: "What's the big deal? It's just pouring it into the plate, isn't it?"
The fat man scoffed at her in return: "Why don't you give it a try?"
Liu Lan talked a lot, but she didn't dare to do it herself. She watched as the fat man slowly shook the pot, and only when the fish head was shaking did he quickly pour it onto the plate!
They've all worked in the kitchen, so they have a good eye.
Liu Lan quickly realized just how difficult this was. Let's put it this way: without practicing forty or fifty times, you wouldn't even be able to get the whole fish head out. It's that hard.
Today, the stir-fried pig's head with parsnip and the mixed vegetable rice bowl that Fatty made received unanimous praise from the factory leaders.
Deputy Factory Director Li, in particular, was extremely satisfied. No wonder Fatty said it was a pity last time; the saposhnikovia root stir-fried with pig's head meat absorbed all the oil, making the ingredients taste even more fragrant and layered.
The bunch of good-for-nothings, led by Director Yang, were about 70-80% full by now. They drank and chatted while waiting for the final main dish.
Just then, the door opened, and the fat man led Liu Lan in to serve the dishes.
"The last dish is braised fish head!"
At the fat man's shout, Liu Lan did not rush to serve the dishes. Instead, she held the plate covered with fish bones in both hands and walked up to the leaders: "Leaders, please look, the bones and thorns from the whole fish head are all here."
This moved not only Deputy Factory Director Li, but also Factory Director Yang and others.
This is a dish that requires skill and dedication! The key is that the chef was so meticulous, demonstrating his culinary skills without slowing down the serving speed.
Otherwise, if you take an hour to prepare a single dish, the leaders might not have the patience for it.
Deputy Factory Director Li had already mentally included the fat man as "one of his own," and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but chime in for the fat man: "This dish isn't Sichuan cuisine, is it?"
"The leader knows this very well; it's a representative dish of Huaiyang cuisine. It's even mentioned in 'Dream of the Red Chamber'."
When the leaders heard that this dish could be linked to the Four Great Classical Novels, they all became curious.
The fat man explained, "Sister Feng once said, 'I'll have to break open this fish head for everyone to be happy.' They are from Nanjing, so this dish already existed back then."
Factory Director Yang said "good" twice, then asked the fat man, "Young comrade, what's your name?"
Before the fat man could speak, Liu Lan interrupted, "His name is Chen Kang, nicknamed Fatty, and he works in our cafeteria."
Deputy Factory Director Li quickly whispered to Factory Director Yang, "This is Chen Gangqiang's son from our heat treatment workshop. He just joined the factory this year."
Chen Gangqiang... I remember him, I remember him.
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